Morning Brief — Aug. 19, 2011

More bad news overnight from Asian markets — Harper joins the chorus of leaders demanding Syria’s president resigns — Wills and Kate’s visit fails to end debate over the monarchy — And Tony Clement’s Liberal opponent doesn’t blame his loss on the G8 fund.

_______________________

Friday greetings.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the overnight news from the Asian stock markets wasn’t any better than what we were hearing on Thursday from New York and Toronto.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Japan’s Nikkei stock average lost 2 per cent of its value, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was down 2.6 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi Composite was off 3.9 per cent.
As Rosanne Roseannadanna once said, it’s always something. This time, the blame is being directed at a growing awareness among investors that stagflation — low economic growth and high inflation — remains a real possibility. Fueling that fire, writes Morgan Stanley economists, is a fear the U.S. and European economies are “dangerously close to recession.”

All eyes on Finance Minister Jim Flaherty this morning as he takes the hot seat at an emergency meeting of the House of Commons finance committee. He’s expected to deliver a “stay the course” message in the face of major global economic rumblings. The committee will also hear from Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney.

A new report from Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie recommends that National Defence dismiss or reassign thousands of workers at its headquarters, The Globe and Mail is reporting. The news comes from the yet to be released Report on Transformation which includes 43 recommendations designed to save cut waste and spending while preparing Canada’s forces for the future.

Stephen Harper has joined Barack Obama and the leaders of Britain and France in calling for Syria’s president to resign immediately. “The Syrian people have a right to decide for themselves the next steps for Syria’s future,” Harper said, in the wake of shootings that have left hundreds of anti-government protestors dead. Canada has extended its sanctions against Syria to include freezing assets belonging to people and organizations affiliated with President Bashar Assad, and banning people associated with his government from coming to Canada.

The prime minister’s email box has filled to overflowing with comments from Canadians about the July visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. More than 50 of those emails were made public to iPolitics through an access of information request. What these missives prove is that no matter how popular the newlyweds, even they don’t seem able to bridge the divide among Canadians over the monarchy’s place in our country.
One “Dear Harper” letter demands the prime minister and all his MPs boycott the visit, while two others urge the PM to appoint Prince William the next governor general of Canada.
The tour’s costs were the most common complaint. Yet there was also the message from beyond our borders. Wrote the foreign correspondent: “I am so sold on your country. You are truly amazing people.”

The Liberal candidate in Tony Clement’s Muskoka-area riding during the 2008 election doesn’t blame his loss on the G8 Legacy Fund. He blames former Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion’s disastrous campaign interview with CTV.
Jamie McGarvey, now mayor of Parry Sound, said internal polling showed his campaign was doing well up until its final week. After the controversial interview, “you could kind of feel things deflating,” he said. McGarvey lost by 10,000 votes.
The NDP have been saying Clement’s closed-door meetings with local mayors to discuss millions of dollars worth of G8 infrastructure projects gave him a leg up in the campaign.

And Liberal Leader Bob Rae begins a tour of southern Ontario that runs through the weekend. Today he meets the party faithful in Niagara Falls, Ingersoll and Stratford; Saturday sees him in Windsor; and Sunday, Rae returns to Toronto for a barbecue in Riverdale Park.